Let's Play Wedding
by btamamura
Summary: Animal Shelf. After learning Timothy will take part in his cousin's wedding, his five special animals decide to have a pretend wedding; with Stripey as the groom and Getup as the bride. Friendship, no actual shipping.


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own The Animal Shelf or the characters, they are the property of Ivy Wallace._

**Notes: **_**I've loved The Animal Shelf since I was in high school, and recently found myself becoming fond of the idea of Stripey and Getup as a couple. But, because I'm a little wary about writing a fic about stuffed animals in a romantic relationship, this is just a friendship fic.**_

_**I hope you enjoy this fic!**_

One fine morning, Timothy was telling his five stuffed animals sitting on the blue shelf some very exciting news. "My older cousin is getting married this weekend, and we've all been asked to come too."

"Oh! What wonderful news!" Getup the giraffe exclaimed happily.

"What is a wedding?" Little Mut questioned, paw to his mouth.

"A wedding is something very special. That is when two people get married, become husband and wife and spend the rest of their lives together. It's to show how much they love each other," old Gumpa the bear explained to the tiny dog.

"I was asked to be the ring bearer, so I'll be away a lot this week leading to the wedding. It's my job to carry the rings my cousin and the man she's marrying will put on each other as they make their vows," Timothy told the animals.

"Wow, that's a big honour, Timothy! Congratulations!" Stripey the zebra exclaimed excitedly, his striped tail wagging back and forth.

"That reminds me, I'd better get going, Mum's getting everything ready. I'll see you tonight. Stay out of trouble. Bye bye!"

"Bye bye, Timothy!" the five animals called as they watched the boy leave the room.

Woeful the monkey perked up. "Hey, I just had an idea! We should play wedding!"

"How will we do that?" Little Mut asked.

"Well, one of us will be the bride and another will be the groom. Then, one of us will be the minister to wed them, and then we'll have one of us as the flower girl and one as the ring bearer. They're the most important people in the wedding after all."

"Well, in that case, I shall be the minister," Gumpa volunteered. "We should have Getup as the bride and Stripey as the groom. Woeful, you'll be the ring bearer, leaving Little Mut as the flower girl."

"Oh, but I'm not a girl," Little Mut commented.

"It's just pretend... I know! How about since you are a boy, we'll have a flower boy just this once."

"Okay, I can do that!"

With the plan agreed upon, the five animals made their way carefully off the blue shelf.

"Now then, Stripey, you go with Woeful to find something that can be used as rings, as well as a tie for yourself," Gumpa instructed. "Getup and Little Mut should try to find some small flowers and a veil for her to wear. I'll see if I can write out what needs to be said as the minister."

Little Mut and Getup were outside, beside Splashing Stream. "I think these would make some nice flowers, but what do I do with them?" Little Mut asked as he showed Getup the different coloured flowers.

"I think the flower girl, or flower boy in your case, is meant to throw them lightly as they walk down the aisle beside the ring bearer. That's what I'd heard anyway," the female giraffe responded.

"Oh, I see!" He trusted what Getup had to say as she was one of the oldest of the toys sitting on the shelf. "So, I would do something like this?" He picked two of the flowers, then walked forwards, throwing one to the left and one to the right.

"Yes, I think that's right. Oh! Looking at the flowers reminds me I will need a bouquet. Every bride has one. She holds it through the wedding, and at the end of the party to celebrate the bride and groom becoming husband and wife, the bride throws it over her head for someone else to catch. But, that was normally for other girls to do."

"Oh! How about these plastic rings Timothy got out of that strange machine?" Woeful suggested, holding up two rings, one blue and one pink. "You'd have the blue one, and Getup gets the pink one."

"And I can tie this ribbon around my neck to make a bowtie," Stripey added as he nudged at a dark blue ribbon with his nose.

"I thought it had to be black, but oh well." Woeful picked up the ribbon and tied it around the zebra's neck as neatly as he could. "It's not perfect, but it will do."

"Hmm, what was I to say next? And so by the power invested in me...hmm, that's funny, I thought I knew what was to be said next." Gumpa looked at the paper he'd scribbled on. "Oh! I now pronounce you man and wife! That's what it was. It still feels like something's missing though...oh well, I'm sure it's not important."

The toys met up on the shelf that afternoon, all ready aside from the veil Getup would have to wear. "I tried looking, but I couldn't find it," Getup stated after Gumpa asked where it was.

"Okay, then how about we use that down there. That material looks like you can see through it," Woeful pointed out.

"See through it?"

"Of course! Stripey's not allowed to see your face until Gumpa's finished saying everything, then he lifts the veil."

"Now then, we still have time, so let's go to Splashing Stream and have the wedding. Little Mut, Woeful and Getup, you need to wait here a little longer. I'll take Stripey there and then come and get you. As of now, Stripey and Getup cannot see each other. It is tradition." The old bear led the zebra off the shelf and out of the room.

Little Mut, Woeful and Getup climbed off the shelf and picked up the material. "Can you see through this?" the monkey asked as he held it in front of the giraffe's eyes.

"I think so," she replied.

"Good. Then we need to find a way to put this on you."

"How about we put this ribbon on it and then tie it around Getup's head?" Little Mut asked as he held up some white ribbon.

"Oh, very well done, Little Mut!" Getup praised.

Stripey stood by Splashing Stream waiting patiently for his friends to arrive. "I am surprised that Gumpa suggested I be the groom. I know that Getup and I are very close friends, maybe that's why. But, aren't weddings for people who love each other? I guess we do love each other as friends do..." He started to pace, his tail swishing side to side to express his anxiety. There was something up about the arrangement, but what was it?

"We're here, Stripey!" Woeful called out. "Wow, you seem upset. What's wrong?"

The zebra turned to Gumpa as the bear moved to stand near him. "Gumpa, how come you suggested that I be the groom? It makes sense for Getup to be the bride as she's a girl giraffe."

"Well, you two are very close friends. Whenever you're apart, you two tend to show some signs of upset, so I thought this way, you'll always be together for the rest of your lives," the wise bear responded.

"Oh. I see. Then, thank you, Gumpa."

"Okay, Woeful, have you got the rings?"

"Right here!" the monkey responded, holding up the rings sitting on a tiny cushion. Well, tiny by our standards, but it was a little large for Woeful.

"Little Mut, have you got the flowers to throw?"

"Yes, Gumpa!" the tiny dog responded as he held up the small basket filled with flower petals. The basket couldn't hold many flowers, so instead, they filled it with petals.

"Are you ready back there, Getup?"

"I'm ready, Gumpa!" Getup called from behind a bush.

"Then, let's begin."

Woeful walked slowly beside Little Mut as the tiny toy threw the flower petals as they took a step. The monkey took care with the pillow, making sure not to drop the rings. Soon, he was standing beside Stripey, while Little Mut moved to stand in his designated spot, almost where Getup would be standing.

"Okay, Getup, it's your turn," Gumpa called out to the giraffe.

She stepped out from behind the bushes and made her way down the path of flower petals Little Mut had left. She slipped over a couple of times, but always picked herself back up and continued until she was standing by Stripey.

Gumpa cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved animals, we are here to join Getup the giraffe and Stripey the zebra in holy matrimony." He turned to Getup. "Getup, do you take Stripey to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to nuzzle, in Timothy's sickness and in Timothy's health, through playtime and night time, till you're parted after being ripped?"

"I do."

"The same thing for you, Stripey, do you take Getup to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," the zebra replied.

Woeful rolled his eyes. "I thought you were meant to say the whole thing twice..."

"Yes, but we're short on time," Gumpa replied. "Anyway, Stripey, take a ring. The pink one."

The zebra picked it up with his mouth. "Ere oo I ut it?" (Where do I put it?)

"On Getup's leg, I suppose. Neither of you have fingers."

Stripey waited until Getup had sat down and held out her left leg before he carefully slid it on. "Do I need to say something?"

"Oh yes. You're to say _with this ring, I thee wed_."

"Okay. With this ring, I thee wed."

"Now, Getup, you do the same thing."

The giraffe picked up the blue ring and slid it onto Stripey's right leg after he'd sat down and offered that leg forward. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"And so by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Okay, that's it."

"No it's not! You forgot the most important thing, the moment everyone's waiting for in a wedding! You forgot to tell them they could kiss!" Woeful exclaimed.

"Kiss?" the giraffe and zebra asked. "We have to kiss?"

"Oh, that's right. I did forget that." Gumpa cleared his throat. "You may now kiss the bride."

Stripey would've blushed if it was possible for toy zebras to do so, he knew Getup felt the same way. He used his nose to lift the veil. "So, how would we kiss?"

"I guess we would put our noses together or something?" Getup suggested.

"Alright." He reached up while Getup lowered her head a little more until their noses were touching. They weren't aware that both of their tails were swishing side to side rapidly.

Woeful and Little Mut cheered as Gumpa concluded the wedding by saying "I would like to present Mr. and Mrs. Stripey and Getup!"

That night, Timothy came into his room. "Wow, it's hard being a ring bearer. I have to make sure I don't walk too fast or too slow. But, it's an important job, and I am glad my cousin said I could do it. I won't let her down. Now then, what did all of you do today?"

"We had our own wedding for Stripey and Getup," Little Mut explained. "I was the flower boy. I was going to be the flower girl but I'm not a girl."

"I was ring bearer," Woeful added.

"And I was the minister," Gumpa concluded.

"Ohh, so that's why you two are wearing those plastic rings! Congratulations, you two!" Timothy said to the two quadrapeds sitting on the blue shelf.

Again, if it was possible, the zebra and giraffe would've blushed right down to their stuffing. Instead, they just bowed their heads and smiled as they thanked the boy.

From that day on, there was a different feeling among the toys on the shelf. Everyone noticed that Stripey and Getup would always sit very close to each other, even closer than what they did in the past, and this time, it had nothing to do with the size of the shelf.


End file.
